Articulated railway hopper cars



P. F. GIESKING ARTICULATED RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Jan. 21, 1969 Filed Nov. 1, 1965 21, 169 P. F. GIESKING 3,422,771

ARTICULATED RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Filed NOV. 1, 1965 Sheet 2 0f 4 Jan. 21, 1969 P. F. GIESKING 3,422,771

ARTICULATED RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Filed NOV. 1, 1965 Sheet 3 of 4 Jan. 21, 1969 P. F. GIESKING ARTICULATED RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Sheet Filed Nov. 1, 1965 United States Patent 3,422,771 ARTICULATED RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Paul F. Giesking, Seven Islands, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Pickands Mather & C0., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 505,890 Claims priority, applicgation Canada, Oct. 13, 1965,

US. Cl. 105-3 Claims Int. (:1. B6111 17/00, 3/00,- B61f 5/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to railway car structure and more particularly to an improved construction for a freight car which is especially designed for rapid loading, transport and discharge of particulate material such as granular iron ore concentrate. This concentrate is processed from specular hematite iron ore to a particle size of, for example 28 mesh, is nearly dry, and has a loose weight of approximately 171 lbs./ cu./ ft. The flow characteristics of the concentrate are nearly fluid when dry, and relatively stable when containing 3% moisture.

A principal object of the invention is to provide an improved car for hauling this and other similar particulate material, which is of economical construction in relation to the amount of material it can haul, and which is also relatively light in weight without sacrificing structural strength. These objectives are in part attained by consolidating a plurality of individually trucked car units into what is operationally equivalent to a single car, the several car units being articulated in a more or less permanent manner through the use of essentially permanent drawbar connections, and there being provided conven tional coupler mechanisms at the opposite ends of the articulated car units so as to enable a plurality of these to be coupled in the usual manner to form a complete train. Articulation of several car units also permits one to eliminate sill steps and grab irons at intermediate locations along the car units, and these are now necessary only at the coupler ends of the articulated car.

Further economy in construction costs as well as savings in weight is made possible as a result of essentially permanent articulation of several car units since many of the appurtenances belonging to the air brake system such as air tanks and valving etc., and which are normally provided on each car, can now be consolidated on one ca unit.

An additional economy in costs as well as savings in Weight is also made possible by the unique construction 01 each car unit which features a car body or shell of which a major portion thereof has a cylindrical configuration. The beam strength inherent in the cylindrical geometry makes it possible to eliminate the necessity for providing the more conventionally used heavy center sill as part of the car substructure. Thus, the improved car in accordance with the invention is composed of stub sills at the ends thereof between which extend a pair of relatively light side sills on which is carried the cylindrical body shell.

3,422,771 Patented Jan. 21, 1969 ice A further feature of the invention is the provision of internal ribbing Within the car shell which serves the dual purpose of structural reinforcing as well as surge dampeners for the particulate material loaded into the cars.

Still another feature of the invention is the structural arrangement for the air brake pipe line and brake cylinder pipe line which extend from one end of the articulated car to the other. These pipe lines are rigid and are carried directly through the cargo space within each car body in a straight, horizontal direction, and the ends of the pipe lines on adjacent car units which project through the end walls of the car body, are interconnected by flexible hose to provide a certain amount of slack sufficient to permit full action of the draft gear between car units without imposing a strain on the pipe lines. Piping of the air in this manner serves to eliminate the necessity for providing the otherwise customary angle cocks and also efiects a substantial reduction of air friction within the lines.

Still another feature of the car is the provision of hand wheels at each side of each car unit so as to enable the hand brake mechanism on each car unit to be set, or released, from either side by a trainman standing on the ground. This dual hand wheel arrangement also preferably includes a reversing mechanism associated with one of the hand wheels so that each wheel is always turned in the same direction to effect the desired brake or brake release action.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages inherent in the improved car construction will become more apparent from the following detailed description of one suitable embodiment thereof in conjunction with the associated drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diminutive view in side elevation of an articulated car comprising three car units connected together in an essentially permanent manner;

FIG. 2 is a view in end elevation of the lower portion of one of the car units;

FIG. 3 is a composite transverse sectional view split along a vertical center line through one of the car units, the view to the right of the center line showing the cargo space within the car body and internal ribbing and reinforcing structure, while the view to the left of the center line shows the stub sill in section and car body in end elevation;

FIG. 4 is essentially a plan view of the understructure at one end of a car unit showing the stub sill and side sills, the understructure at other end of the car unit being the same;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through the longitudinally extending part of the stub sill and the draft gear as well as a portion of the side sill and car shell in side elevation; and

FIG. 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing a modified embodiment of the dual hand wheel arrangement provided for operating the hand brake on the car.

With reference now to the drawings and to FIG. 1 in particular, the articulated car is seen to be comprised of a plurality of car units A, B and C which are connected together in an essentially permanent manner. While, in the illustrated embodiment, three such car units are joined together, it is to be understood that the number of units may be reduced to two, or increased to four or more, if desired. The essentially permanent drawbar articulation between the several car units is indicated at 10 and the outer ends of the end car units are provided with conventional couplers 11 so as to enable a train of the articulated cars to be made up in the conventional manner. The customary sill steps and grab irons for use of crewmen are provided only on the outer ends of the end car units A and C, i.e. at these ends where conventional couplers 11 are installed.

The major portion of the body or shell of each car unit which is made from a low alloy steel of high tensile strength is preferably cylindrical so as to enable use of the beam strength inherent in this particular geometry to establish a major part of the strength of the car. With such a body construction it is not then necessary to build the car understructure with the usual center sill extending between the end trucks 12 of each car unit.

The essentially cylindrical body of each car unit includes a top loading hatch 13, the hatch extending for substantially the full length of the car to facilitate loading, and a hatch cover 14 pivoted along one side thereof so as to enable it to be shifted between its closed and open positions by means of an upstanding actuating arm 15 and Wheel 16 which is arranged to roll against a tripping member, not shown, placed in its path along the track. A more detailed description of this hatch cover structure and its mode of operation may be found in my copending US. application Ser. No. 283,041, filed May 24, 1963, now Patent No. 3,251,487. In FIG. 1, hatch 13, of the middle car unit B is shown in its open position, while the hatches of the other two car units A and C are shown closed. However, this has been done for illustration only since the hatches would normally all be in the same position.

As previously explained, these cars can be used for hauling any particulate material such as granular iron ore concentrate. Discharge of the material from the car units takes place at the bottom by means of two sets of dump doors 17 on each car unit which are preferably so constructed so to be actuatable automatically between open and closed position by means including a wheeled drive, the wheel 18 of which can be seen in FIG. 1. This wheel, on each car unit, is adapted to establish a rolling contact with a rail located at the side of the track while the car is moving, thus setting up a rotation for the wheel to thereby develop the motive power for openingand thereafter closingthe dump doors. A more detailed disclosure of the operating principles for these dump doors can be found in my US. Patent 3,080,075 granted Mar. 5, 1963.

Each of the car units is provided with conventional air brakes for the wheels on each truck 12 but much of the related air equipment for operating the brakes themselves, normally provided on a more conventional single car with end couplers, is consolidated to save cost as well as weight. Thus, for the three-unit car shown in FIG. 1, only the middle unit B is provided with an air tank 19 and related valving.

A further feature relating to the air brake equipment is the novel manner in which the necessary piping for the air is run from one end to the other of the triple-unit car. This piping is run straight through the cargo space of the car units without any bends whatsoever and results in a substantial reduction of air friction within the pipe lines as -well as eliminating the necessity for the usual angle cocks. As shown in FIG. 1, and in FIG. 3, the two air pipes 20, 21 are made of a rigid material and extend sideby-sid through each car unit. The pipes protrude through the end walls of the car body, and the terminal portions of the pipes on adjacent car units are coupled to each other by flexible hose connections 22 which, as indicated in FIG. 1 are purposely made to normally sag in order to permit full action of the draft gear between car units without creating a strain on the air lines,

As has been explained, the major portion of the body or shell 23 of each car unit has a cylindrical configuration. The cylindrical portion of the shell is indicated at 23a and this contour is modified along the lower part of the car body at 2317 to accommodate the discharge outlets 23c which lead to the two sets of dump doors 17 This is shown quite clearly in FIG. 3 which also shows one of the operating Wheels 18 for the dump doors, as well as upper and lower cross bracing 24, 25 and diagonal bracing 26 all located within the body shell to reinforce it.

As a further reinforcement for the car, the upper portion of the car body is provided with a series of internal transverse, parallel spaced arcuate ribs 30 which extend inwardly from the interior surface of the body shell. This ribbing also serves as a surge dampener for the easily flowable particulate material which is loaded into the car to minimize longitudinal surging of the load within the car.

As has been explained, the novel car structure in accordance with the invention does not utilize a center sill in the under structure for supporting the weight of the car body and its load. Rather the under structure for the car includes only a stub sill 27 at each end and relatively light, longitudinally extending side sills 28. The end portions of the side sills 28 rest upon and are secured, as by welding, to lateral extensions 27a of the stub sills, and the side sills 28 are welded to the cylindrical body shell 23a from one end thereof to the other. Thus, the end stub sills 27 and parallel spaced side sills 28' establish an essentially rectangular sill frame on which the body shell 23 is carried as an integral part.

Each stub sill 27 also includes a longitudinally extending part 27b which encloses the draft gear for the corresponding end of the car unit. The laterally and longitudinally extending parts 27a, 27b of the stub sills establish an essentially T-shaped configuration upon which is secured a plate member 29. These plate members, which have a comparatively broad surface area, establish a platform at each end of each car unit which serves as a support for auxiliary car equipment such as the handwheels and related drive train for operating the hand brakes of each car unit, air brake components on the middle ear unit B, and sill steps and grab irons on the end car units A and C. These platforms 29 are also utilized as tie points for the ends of other external reinforcing structure for the car bodies. This reinforcing structure includes struts 31 which extend at an angle from a transverse angle iron 32 near the outer end of the platform to the end wall 23d of the car body at essentially the corner points of an upper, rectangular car body reinforcing frame 33 made of angle iron and which horizontally surrounds the upper portion of the body. In addition, two other reinforcing struts 34 extend from these corner points downwardly along the end walls 23d in a converging manner, the lower ends of these latter struts also being secured to the platform.

As shown in FIG. 5 the draft gear for those ends of the car units which are essentially permanently articulated principally includes a draw bar 10 having a box configuration, there being provided at each end of this bar a vertically extending bore 36 adapted to receive a connecting pin 37 which cooperates with a yoke 38 established as an integral part of the longitudinal extension 27b on the stub sill. The connecting pin 37 after insertion from the bottom to establish an articulated connection between the draw bar 35 and stub sill is maintained in place by a retainer plate 39 applied over the lower end of the pin in an essentially non-disconnectable manner.

The circular pivot bearing structure by which the load is transferred from the stub sill at each end of the car unit to the truck bolster includes a male circular bearing plate 40a secured to the underside of the stub sill at the junction of the lateral and longitudinally extending parts 27a, 27b which mates with a female circular bearing surface 40b on the bolster of truck 12.

The hand brake mechanism for each car unit is generally conventional, being of the well known Ajax type. However, instead of having by a single handwheel to set the brakes, the present construction employs a handwheel 41, 42, at each side of the car. These handwheels are placed at a level accessible to a trainman when standing on the ground and each wheel is secured to the outer end of a horizontally positioned operating shaft 43 forming part of the drive train for setting the brakes, some of this train being located within a drive transmission housing 44. When a single operating shaft arrangement (43) is utilized in conjunction with alternatively operated handwheels 41, 42, it will be evident that rotation of one of those wheels in a clockwise direction when standing at one side of the car will serve to set the brakes, while rotation of the other wheel in that same direction when standing at the opposite side of the car will serve to release the brakes. In order to effect a setting of the brakes (as well as a release) by rotation of either handwheel 41, 42 in the same direction, a reverse gearing may be interposed in the shafting between one of the handwheels and the transmission housing 44. One such arrangement is shown in FIG. 6 wherein it will be seen that the shaft 45 for handwheel 41 extends directly to the transmission housing 44 while the drive shafting associated with the other handwheel 42 is interrupted by a reverse drive arrangement comprising a gear 46 on shaft 47 rotated by handwheel 42, a reversing, idler gear 48 meshed with gear 46, and a gear 49 which meshes with idler gear 48 and is located on shaft 50 which extends into transmission housing 44.

Thus, by interposing this idler, reversing gearing in one of the shafts, it will be evident that rotation of the handwheels 41 and 42 in the same direction will now produce the same sense of driving input i.e. brake set or release at the transmission within housing 44.

I claim:

1. In an articulated railway car structure, the combination comprising a plurality of car units, each said car unit including a car body in the form of a shell, a pair of side sills secured along the opposite sides of said body shell, stub sills secured respectively to the opposite end portions of said side sills, a truck underlying each of said stub sills, and draft gear interconnecting adjacent car units in an essentially permanent manner, each said draft gear including a draw bar and means effecting essentially permanent articulated connections between the opposite ends of said draw bar and the stub sills of adjacent car units.

2. In. an articulated railway car structure, the combination comprising a plurality of car units, each said car unit comprising car body in the form of a shell having a major portion thereof of cylindrical configuration, a pair of side sills secured respectively along the opposite sides of said cylindrical body portion, stub sills at the opposite ends of said car body, each said stub sill including a T-shaped portion oriented such that the stern of the T extends longitudinally of the car body thereby to establish a transverse orientation for the arms of the T to which the end portions of said side sills are secured, a truck underlying each of said stub sills, and draft gear interconnecting adjacent car units in an essentially permanent manner, each said draft gear including a draw bar having the opposite end portions thereof housed within the stem portion of adjacent stub sills and essentially permanently articulated therewith,

3. In a railway car structure, the combination comprising a plurality of independently trucked car units, essentially permanent articulating means connecting said car units together in end-to-end relation, each said car unit including a body shell for hauling fluent material, air actuated braking means for the trucks of each car unit, rigid pipe lines extending straight through the body shell of each car unit and protruding through the end walls thereof for conveying air by which to control application of said braking means, and flexible pipe lines interconmeeting the confronting ends of said rigid pipe lines between adjacent car units.

4. In a railway car structure, the combination comprising a plurality of independently trucked car units, essentially permanent articulating means connecting said car units together in end-to-end relation, each said car unit including a body shell of which a major portion thereof is of cylindrical configuration, a loading hatch for fluent material extending along the upper part of said body shell from one end thereof to the other, dump doors provided along the bottom of said body shell, air actuated braking means for the trucks of each car unit, rigid pipe lines extending straight through the body shell of each car unit and protruding through the end walls thereof for conveying air by which to control the application of said braking means, and flexible pipe lines interconnecting the confronting ends of said rigid pipe lines between adjacent car units.

5. In a railway car structure which includes a hand actuated braking mechanism for the truck wheels, the improvement which resides in the provision of a hand wheel at each side of the car at the same end thereof for actuating said braking mechanism, said hand wheels being located at a level accessible to a trainman while standing at the side of said car, and said hand wheels being secured to an operating shaft rotatable therewith to effect a rotary drive input for actuating said braking mechanism, the braking mechanism further including a rotation reversing mechanism interposed between one of said hand wheels and said operating shaft thereby to effect the same sense of rotary drive input to said braking mechanism upon rotation of said hand wheels in the same sense as related to the position of the trainman at the side of said car.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12,166 1/1855 Miller 3031 472,424 4/1892 Bangs, et al. 303 2s 519,993 5/1894 Fieke 188-124 788,016 4/1905 Bettendorf -361 X 814,880 3/1906 Small et al. 10'5-360 951,239 3/1910 Garrett 105-360 987,534 3/1911 Barr 188-107 1,124,980 1/1915 Weaver 105247 1,218,479 3/1917 Savio 303--26 1,560,917 11/1925 Stubbs 1051 1,562,991 11/1925 Rudigier 222-131 2,000,819 5/1935 Burkhardt 105-360 2,087,703 7/1937 Pierce 105360 X 2,108,416 2/1938 Smith et al. 105--247 2,373,348 4/1948 Schroeder et al. 105-364 X 2,566,427 9/1951 Ramsay 105364 2,630,078 3/1953 Euwer 1051 2,640,441 6/1953 Jones 105364 3,192,877 7/1965 Wright 105360 3,194,183 7/1965 Schwartz et a1. 105-377 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,292 1902 Great Britain. 10,830 7/1901 Norway.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner.

US Cl. X.R.

105199, 241, 451; l88-l07; 2l376; 222-13l; 3031 

